Free Ceaseless by S. A. Lusher Page A

all right...oh fuck, we're coming up on him,” Johnson said.
    They all fell silent. The dark dot was much closer and larger now. Allan half expected to see the killer running, but he was walking with great strides through the hinterlands of baked dirt. Allan was tempted to just hit the bastard, but he knew he'd survive it and the jeep would probably be ruined in the process. So, instead, he just swerved around the hulking figure. The killer looked at them as they passed, and even reached out and tried to grab the jeep, but his armored fingers missed the frame of the jeep by mere inches.
    Allan glanced in the rearview. The killer loomed but was rapidly disappearing behind them, his pace never changing.
    “Fuck, that guy is creepy,” he muttered.
    Ahead of them was the power plant.
     
    * * * * *
     
    Allan braked hard and killed the engine as he came up to the gate surrounding the single, massive structure of the power plant.
    “Are you sure you can do this?” he asked, looking at Lucy.
    “Believe it or not, yes. I may be a comms specialist but I pulled a year at a power plant after I graduated. I learn quickly,” she replied.
    “This is fucking insane,” Johnson replied.
    “And the shelter will protect us?” Allan pressed as he stepped out.
    “Yes. They've all been tested. It will protect us,” Lucy replied.
    “I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you all to leave, this is a restricted area-” the security officer said as he stepped out of the gatehouse behind the perimeter fence. He hesitated when he actually took in the bloodied and battered nature of the three people he was addressing. “Who are you?” he asked after a moment.
    “My name is Allan Gray. I'm a Sergeant in the Investigations Division. On authority of SI, I hereby command you to do let us in and take me to the man in the charge,” Allan replied with as much authority as he could muster.
    “I...” the guard hesitated.
    “Do you see that?” Allan asked, pointing back the way they had come at the far-off black dot that was slowly growing closer.
    “...yes? What is that? Is that a person?”
    “That is a maniac who has somehow gotten his hands on some top-of-the-line military armor. It's bulletproof and magnifies his strength beyond reason. So far, he's survived two crashes apparently completely unaffected. He's killed over two dozen people and he doesn't look like he's slowing down anytime soon. I need to stop him. Now take me to your fucking boss,” Allan snapped.
    The guard hesitated a little bit more, then opened the fence. “Come on.”
    He led them onto the grounds of the power plant. The guard hesitated, staring at the killer in the distance, and then shut and locked the chainlink gate.
    Allan laughed. “That won't even come close to stopping him.”
    “Come on,” the guard repeated, leading them towards the four-story structure ahead of them. The three of them followed, coming into an almost barren lobby. In lieu of a circular desk with that most buildings that needed lobbies came equipped with, the power plant sported a security station. The room had been split in half by a wall that was mostly bulletproof glass. Behind it, a pair of security guards sat, studying a bank of monitors.
    Allan and the others approached the glass wall.
    “What the fuck is going on?” one of the guards asked, her voice coming through a speaker built into the glass. Allan knew that her stern demeanor and the extra security might seem strange to a civilian, but he also knew that power plants were common targets for insurgents and mercenary factions looking to make a quick cred due to the fact that the power cores used in larger, more powerful plants made very nice bombs.
    Allan quickly updated them on the situation. The pair of guards behind the glass exchanged glances, then the woman who seemed to be in charge reached out and grabbed a radio off the wall. “Wait one,” she said.
    Feeling the press of time, Allan turned and looked out of the